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Kellen Dunham was shivering when he conducted an interview Thursday evening, less than 48 hours before Butler's basketball season opener against Maine on Saturday. It had nothing to do with the frigid temperatures outside Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Rather, he had just finished some cold water immersion treatment and barely had time to dry off and get dressed.

"I don't want to feel like an old man in every practice," the junior guard said.

He also has given up Mountain Dew. Dunham can remember days last year when he was drinking anywhere from 44 to 50 ounces per day.

"I used to be an addict," he said.

It's all part of an effort to get in better shape for a season in which the Bulldogs again will be relying heavily on the former Pendleton Heights standout. That's no different than last season, when he averaged nearly 36 minutes per game in Big East play.

But the hope is the combination of better conditioning and interim coach Chris Holtmann's plan for him to average somewhere between 26 and 32 minutes will lead to a better, fresher Dunham, a preseason first-team All-Big East selection.

"You don't feel tired, but your body is just naturally worn down after all that grinding," Dunham said. "Everyone is so strong in the Big East, it takes a little more oomph to get open offensively. That's one thing I've got to do this year: Take a little better care of my body."

Dunham led the Bulldogs with a 16.7-point average. At 6-6, he's a good rebounder, averaging four per game last season. Overall, it was a good season for a young player going through the physical Big East for the first time.

But Dunham and Holtmann both expect improvement. For starters, Dunham shot just 39 percent from the field, including just 35.5 from 3-point range. He had more turnovers (66) than assists (52).

He went in 11-for-14 from the field in a 71-54 victory at Seton Hall on March 8. But in five other games between Feb. 18 and season's end, Dunham was just a combined 20-for-62 (32.5 percent), including just 2-for-10 in a season-ending loss to Seton Hall at the Big East Tournament.

"Obviously, I would like to put the ball in the basket at a higher level," Dunham said. "Shooting from 3 is one of my strengths, I would like to think, so I would like to be able to contribute as much as I can in that aspect. My teammates are improved and a little different this year. I think they will take a lot of pressure off me."

Holtmann agreed with a suggestion that if Dunham could get his 3-point percentage up to 40 percent, it would have a huge impact on the Bulldogs. But he said the coaching staff is challenging him to become a better overall player, not just a shooter.

"He had to do so much for us last year and he's going to have to do a lot for us this year if we're going to be good," Holtmann said. "We need to continue to give him a feel for being incredibly aggressive, but also a good understanding of what a great shot is. He needs to be a guy, because he drives it well and teams are going to close out long on him, that will get to the free throw line. That's part of his overall efficiency."

Holtmann said he was pleased to see Dunham takes two charges during a recent practice. That's another sign his overall game is improving, he said.

"He's a really good rebounder for a guard," he said. "That's an important part of his contribution to our team. He's so hungry to get better. You continue to push things in front of him and to grow his game."

Butler opens against a Maine team that is coming off a 6-23 season and saw two of its top three scorers transfer. The Black Bears also have a new coach in Bob Walsh, a former Providence assistant who led Rhode Island College to eight consecutive NCAA Division III tournament appearances before being hired at Maine.

Holtmann said the Black Bears will provide a better challenge than their record suggests.

"They have good size," Holtmann said. "With a new coach, you always wonder about a new system and I think there is a new energy around them."

First time for everything: The Black Bears and the Bulldogs are meeting for the first time. It also is the first time Butler has ever played a team from the America East Conference.

International feeling: Maine has seven foreign-born players on its roster, including three from Canada, two from Serbia, one from Nigeria and one from Germany. Maine and Alaska (which doesn't have a Division I basketball program) are the only two states to never send a team to the NCAA Tournament.

Black Bears starting over: All of Maine's players are wearing zero on their practice jerseys, which is emblematic of starting at ground zero under new coach Walsh. It also is designed to serve as motivation because it's a reminder of how many America East titles the program has won. Maine was picked to finish eighth in the league this season in a poll of the league's coaches.